I’ve partied in San Diego. There are lots of options for beautiful people to finish your evening with, whether male or female. Either way, you’re gonna need a Jimmy in all likelihood. Ask J-FOH. He’s a local. He knows what’s up. Or ask “Adrienne” about Cam Thomas. Anywho… a Jimmy (hat) is very necessary in San Diego. The Brew Crew happens to be in Petco which is a stadium known more for its depression of hitter statistics than for the amount of petting that occurs. Jimmy Nelson is no fine thang, but he’s got some pretty good swing and miss in him and the Friars are clearly the worst offense he’s faced this year. And if my attempts at hitting a home run in the night clubs of San Diego are any indication, striking out is a very common trend as a tourist there.
I’m not gonna try to say that Nelson is the best option on the board today, but he is a really nice option. There are so many high priced guys today that I feel like taking someone at the lower end is what will set you apart in any matchup. Last night I played in three H2H matchups where we had 4-8… yes 8 of the same players. I don’t’ have a lot of words for how stupidly frustrating that is. Well, I do, but they aren’t more or less than 4 letters of inappropriateness. I’m riding Jimmy today like it’s his last adult feature film. I’m just sayin, cuz if I was Kust Cayin’ I’d be biting Grey, and the cougar has not yet approved that behavior. Nelson gets the Padres who’ve been a teeny weenie bit better lately, but ultimately pose the least threat to pitchers today and are in Petco. I won’t put you in a full Nelson to take him, but you should submit to this wisdom.
As we approach the final month of the season we are starting to really dial in the DraftKings picks. Having nearly a full season of data to rely on helps as the DFSBot proves. Rudy’s phenomenal tool, as Mrs. Gamble calls it, cranks out the day’s best value plays and even breaks it down to expected $ per point. The Ombotsman is now standing among company in its claim that the DFSBot has been a much more accurate method of ranking value than Draftkings salaries have been.
New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well try out this 20 teamer of Razzball writers and friends to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. It’s how we know you care!
As I briefly alluded to earlier, there are a lot of expensive pitchers available today. I’ve been doing well lately with pairing a top tier pitcher with the flavor of the day. Nelson provides the flavor, but the next few provide the proper texture to make a superb dish…
Johnny Cueto, P: $11,400: If he was NY I’d say he’s got Wu Tang style. But he’s Cincy so there’s no good hip-hop allusion. He has an extra ‘N’ in his name but the young bears aka Chi-Town Cubbies should bolster his K-rate by 1-2 per 9. I like the highest price hurler today to choke back the free swingin Young C-zees.
Madison Bumgarner, P: $10,000: He’s the meanest dude on the mound left in baseball. Old school to the core. I mean the guy got paid and decided to buy cows. No bullshit aside, he’s the real stopper on the squad and they need a win really bad to turn things around. I’m kinda making a contrarian play on the splits cuz he’s been seemingly bad at home so far this year. He’s got an ERA over 3.30 worse at home than on the road this year which is a freakish anomaly that I expect to start regressing back to the mean tonight. Over the last three years he’s been 1.02 better in ERA at home than on the road. The Rockies are missing Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez and Michael Cuddyer and are not good outside of Coors with the 4th worst wOBA.
Jose Abreu, 1B: $5,400 – Dong of the day right here. In fact, the pale hoes (spell check) are a nice stack against the (T.J.) House today. The HitterTron has him at #1 today and I can’t argue with that. Alexei Ramirez and Dayan Viciedo are nice plays to pair with the clear ROY today.
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B: $3,600 – If you need a value play at 1B today, this is an amazing option. He just drove in 5 the other day and, although this is a struggling offense right now, Trevor Cahill is a great target for them to bounce back against. A-Gon needs nothing more than to face Cahill to get going as he’s 11-24 against him with 5 XBH lifetime and faces him in the HR haven of Chase Field.
Pedro Alvarez, 3B: $3,400 – If there’s a guy ready to bust out ROS this is the dude right here. He’s got 3 HR in his last 3 games. And still only has 18 HRs this year compared to 36 last year and 30 the year prior. No way he finishes with less than 27 and that means he’s hitting one every 3 games ROS. He’ll K at least once against Lynn today but he’s got a great chance to bang one out as he brings this offense back to life for the stretch run.
Jacoby Ellsbury, OF: $4,500 – Ellsbury vs. Porcello sounds like a really bad undercard fight on an HBO boxing card. The best thing about bad undercard fights is that a homerun knockout is the most likely to occur. Ellsbury has an .856 OPS at home and a 8-13 line against Rick Porcello with 3 XBH. Yum.
Josh Hamilton, OF: $4,000 – Streaky as hell, Josh looks like he’s waking from another slumber with 2 HRs in his last 4 games. Nate Eovaldi is likely to get lit up by this warming offense and Hamilton’s price and warming trend seems like a great value. All Angels in play today as this is my top stack. Kole Calhon is a very near 2nd to Hamilton for me today. Buy them both and enjoy the fireworks erupting into the faux waterfall scene in deep CF.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
NYY @ DET looks very likely to get rained out. Jose Bautista and Alex Gordon are both great options to replace Ellsbury if you get scared away.
Doing Lines in Vegas
Stackables – the chips aren’t lining up for anything 9+ today but I’m sure if you call one of the hotlines they’ll tell you otherwise…
Pitchers of Sharps – Not a lot of extreme action on the books today. One game coming in under 7 which is MIL @ SD at 6.5 (Nelson @ Ross) Don’t buy these hitters and facing these two against each other isn’t a bad play in DFS today.
